Electrospinning is a simple and effective method for producing fibers from tens of nanometers to micrometers. In the electrospinning process, a polymer solution from a reservoir is ejected to a small opening of a capillary by means of Coulomb repulsion of charges that are accumulated at the tip of a pendant droplet as soon as an electrical potential applied between the capillary and a collecting body increases beyond a critical value. As the charged jet travels to the collector, it readily dries out, forming nonwoven fibrous mats depositing on the collector. Due to the ability of fibrous mats and their porous nature, electrospun fibrous webs could be excellent functional wound dressing materials. The porous nature of these mats is highly suitable for the drainage of the wound exudates and, allows appropriate permeation of atmospheric oxygen to the wound. They can be specially made to prevent wounds from attacks of microbes, thus to refrain the wound from possible infections, which would ultimately result in delayed healing.
WO/2010/059127 discloses a portable electrospinning apparatus for generating fibres comprising: at least one reservoir for holding at least one electrospinning medium; an outlet for dispensing the electrospun fibres; a grounded electrode for contacting a surface onto which the fibres are deposited; and a hollow elongate device adapted to connect to the outlet, the hollow elongate device being capable of directing the dispensed fibres towards a pre-determined direction. The present invention also provides a construct for grounding at least one surface, wherein the construct is flexible to substantially conform to the shape of the at least one surface. This is the direct citation from the original document.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,753,454 discloses a novel fiber comprising a substantially homogeneous mixture of a hydrophilic polymer and a polymer which is at least weakly hydrophobic. The fiber optionally contains a pH adjusting compound. A method of making the fiber comprises electrospinning fibers of the substantially homogeneous polymer solution. A method of treating a wound or other area of a patient requiring protection from contamination comprises electrospinning the substantially homogeneous polymer solution to form a dressing. An apparatus for electrospinning a wound dressing is disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,794,219 discloses an electrospinning device for generating a coat from a liquefied polymer. The device comprises: (a) a dispenser for dispensing the liquefied polymer; (b) a cavity having a longitudinal axis, comprising a first system of electrodes; the dispenser and the first system of electrodes being constructed and design such that the liquefied polymer is dispensed from the dispenser and forms a plurality of polymer fibers moving along the longitudinal axis; and (c) a mechanism for relocating the polymer fibers out of the cavity, in a direction of an object, so as to generate a coat on the object.
Shi-Cong Xu et al (Nanoscale, 2015, 7, 12351) describes an electrospinning apparatus (BOEA) based on miniaturization and integration. The device gets liberated from the conventional heavy power supply, achieves the tight integration of functional parts and can be operated by a single hand due to its small volume (10.5×5×3 cm3) and light weight (about 120 g). Different polymers such as polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polycaprolactone (PCL), polystyrene (PS), poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) were electrospun into fibers successfully, which confirms the stable performance and good real-time control capability of the apparatus. These results demonstrate that the BOEA could be potentially applied in many fields, especially in biomedical fields such as skin damage, wound healing, rapid hemostasis, etc.
Pierre-Alexis Mouthuy (Biotechnol Lett (2015) 37:1107-1116) reports about a small, battery-operated electrospinning apparatus which enables control over the voltage and the flow rate of the polymer solution via a microcontroller. It can be used to electrospin a range of commonly used polymers including poly(e-caprolactone), poly(p-dioxanone), poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), poly(ethylene oxide), poly(vinyl acohol) and poly(vinyl butyral). Moreover, electrospun meshes are produced with a quality comparable to a benchtop machine. It is shown that the portable apparatus is able to electrospray beads and microparticles. Finally, we highlight the potential of the device for wound healing applications by demonstrating the possibility of electrospinning onto pig and human skins. Portable electro spinning devices are still at an early stage of development but they could soon become an attractive alternative to benchtop machines, in particular for uses that require mobility and a higher degree of flexibility, such as for wound healing applications.
An electrospinning device for producing a polymer dressing for protecting wound can be very useful in the field environment. The prior art documents disclose electrostatic portable devices operable only in case of grounding a surface of fiber deposition. Effective grounding of a specific patient's skin area is a complicated technical problem. Hence, there is a long-felt and unmet need to provide a handheld device for producing electrospun fiber dressing operable in case of natural grounding of the patient's body. Additionally, the aforesaid handheld device should be enabled to modify features of an obtained coating by means of reconfiguring an applied electrostatic field.